I think this was released in May this year, but pretty limited. I never saw it advertised or promoted near where I live. However, I was on a long haul flight this weekend and it was one of the movie selections. I thought it was a pretty well done movie. It may be on DVD or PPV so may want to check it out.
Man, this is the only post here about this movie?
Anyway, its officially out on DVD here (Canada at least) so some video stores might have it for rental (I had to search for it.)
That said, I’ll give it a 7/10…
Its hard to rate this movie since the material is so specific (Graeme Obree’s attempts at the hour record) and you obviously have an actor trying to ride a bike. Not only that, he’s trying to ride it in egg/superman position so you can only imagine how uncomfortable that is. That said, I think its simple enough to draw a broader audience (ie. not just cyclists.)
I’ve never read Obree’s book, but the screenplay is a bit thin. There’s obvious emphasis on developing Obree’s character but its a bit lacking. No real look into his family life (aside from the obvious), his parents (2 minutes worth?) and ultimate motivation for his insane obsession with the hour record. (Its odd because Brian Cox’s character even asks Obree in the movie and we don’t get an answer. Uh… why even ask?) You would assume the work his friends go through to support him would be more recognized as well. The UCI/WCF characters are very one dimensional - they’re just “evil”. After a while you wonder how biased the view is. Some scenes also aren’t integrated very well and make me wonder about the final editing/budget/director’s decisions.
The cycling scenes look… ok. Maybe its the 90’s styrofoam helmets (my gf had a good laugh) but the biking scenes didn’t inspire me to ride. And the track scenes didn’t give me a sense of speed/thrill. The head shots of Jonny Miller (Obree) while on the track are hilarious. I suppose its an attempt to show the intense pain he goes through during a TT but I think most of know that feeling. (If anything, my coach is always joking/prodding at me to “RELAX your FACE!” hahaha)
Sorry it seems a lot of the comments are negative but I was a bit let down by the movie. I would’ve rated it lower but I gave it a 7/10 due to the unpopular material and the fact that we as triathletes will notice more than necessary in the movie. Its still an ok movie, but I don’t have much desire to see it again.
I was definitely amazed at Obree’s persistance and ingenuity - I’m blown away at how resourceful he was. And I have a new found respect for Specialized. I had almost completely forgotten how small/cool Specialized was when I was a kid. Its amazing to see how they’re now one of the few american bike companies fully sponsoring a pro tour team and knew how important it was to help Obree continue to pursue his goals. Not to mention the aero helmet in the 90’s! cool!
Oh, one last thing, I didn’t watch the movie in one shot. We suddenly went out to catch “Shake Hands with the Devil” which is the story about Romeo Dallaire (General in charge of UN AMIR in Rwanda during the “Hotel Rwanda” period) so I’m sure that screwed up my emotions/impressions…
It is actually Obree himself riding in most of the scenes wher you can’t see the rider’s face up close.
There was a few threads on here about the movie. One had a link to a great, recent interview. How he trained, etc.
Try searching 'Obree" ?
netflix has it, did you notice that he is wearing specialised tri-vents…even though it takes place in 1993-94???